Do you inspect your choke tubes?

[Dtrkyman]

My Indian Creek looks like the inside has been beat with a ballpeen hammer, they say it's normal and doesn't effect performance.  I call BS on that and will send it too them after season, also has a hard spot while threading, starts really easy, gets stiff then back to easy.

As of now it still shoots well but for how long?

I think my poi. already changed.

I pull my tube constantly, cant get a bore snake through that tight sucker!

[runngun]

Saw the same thing with Indian Creek and hevi-shot first came out. Cut grooves in the steps. They said it's normal, back then. Even more with TSS.

Sent from my SM-S908U using Tapatalk

[grayfox]

I'd be interested to know what brand choke tube that is & the choke tube constriction.

[old3toe]

   When I clean my turkey guns I remove the aftermarket chokes and put an improved cylinder or modified choke in the barrel. Deep clean as usual and then clean the turkey chokes with brake cleaner and a toothbrush or other similar brush that will fit. Then I remove the more open choke and clean the barrel threads sqeaky clean then lube threads with breech plug grease and put choke back in. Then clean the open choke threads I just took out.

   It amazes me at the people that don't remove their choke tubes and clean their threads and chokes regularly. I've seen alot of stuck chokes in shotgun barrels. Even with as little as 4-5 shots there is a certain amount of debri, powder, or gases that end up around the edges of the choke tubes. And that's not to mention moisture from rain or snow and the barrel sweating. It's easy to see too. The breech plug grease I've been using for years is white. After I completely clean my gun, choke, and threads and apply fresh white grease, I can shoot three or four shots maybe a few more then remove the choke and see what color the grease is. It's usually a dingy brown then by seasons end it'll be black. It doesn't take much to cease these fine threads up.

[BDeal]

I remove my chokes maybe once a year at the most. I do clean and oil the threads. I've never had an issue. I leave them in when cleaning the barrel which I do often.

[Greg Massey]

AGAIN 5 dollars and a few cents is cheap insurance .... Lube your chokes, oiling isn't the same ... LUBE / Grease

[zelmo1]

Lots of good stuff here. I am overly cautious and do it all, lol. Clean thoroughly, a dab of choke tube lube and 1finger tight, as tight as you can possibly get with no mechanical aid. I inspect it visually often. Your choke tube is part of the gun, so do the maintenance.  Z

[Greg Massey]

Lots of good stuff here. I am overly cautious and do it all, lol. Clean thoroughly, a dab of choke tube lube and 1finger tight, as tight as you can possibly get with no mechanical aid. I inspect it visually often. Your choke tube is part of the gun, so do the maintenance.  Z

X2 ... This is what you do guys .... good post ....

[Sungrazer]

I just had a Yildiz factory full choke crack recently. My brand new 20ga. Legacy HP had a barrel regulation issue (bottom barrel pattern core was 7" low right) Briley told me "send it in, we'll confirm, probably looking at a barrel replacement". Upon cleaning the gun before shipping it off I noticed a funny looking spot in muzzle, upon further inspection the outer section of choke was cracked and had plastic sheared inside the crack (my guess would be wad material). Of course it was stuck, even though I used anti-seize on threads. This choke had roughly 15 cheap clay loads and 5 Turkey loads through it. Good thing I caught that!
I will be cleaning and inspecting my various chokes more routinely in the future!!

[Old Gobbler]

Yes ,

You have to also closely look at the inside lip , also make sure that same lip doesn't have a tighter dia. Than your shotgun bore ..what can happen is the shot charge can catch that inside skirt lip , overpressure and cause a "catastrophic failure"

If your shooting handloads you have to watch for scoring caused from a stray pellet on the outside of the wad , and some older steel shot would do this

Contact the choke builder they will usually send you a replacement

[Moore]

Dang that sucks. Great information

[Vintage]

Checked all my Turkey gun s tonight. Thanks for the heads up.

[Marc]

   When I clean my turkey guns I remove the aftermarket chokes and put an improved cylinder or modified choke in the barrel. Deep clean as usual and then clean the turkey chokes with brake cleaner and a toothbrush or other similar brush that will fit. Then I remove the more open choke and clean the barrel threads sqeaky clean then lube threads with breech plug grease and put choke back in. Then clean the open choke threads I just took out.

   It amazes me at the people that don't remove their choke tubes and clean their threads and chokes regularly. I've seen alot of stuck chokes in shotgun barrels. Even with as little as 4-5 shots there is a certain amount of debri, powder, or gases that end up around the edges of the choke tubes. And that's not to mention moisture from rain or snow and the barrel sweating. It's easy to see too. The breech plug grease I've been using for years is white. After I completely clean my gun, choke, and threads and apply fresh white grease, I can shoot three or four shots maybe a few more then remove the choke and see what color the grease is. It's usually a dingy brown then by seasons end it'll be black. It doesn't take much to cease these fine threads up.

Moisture is the biggest offender here...  Could be while you are hunting, could be humidity in the house...  Most of my chokes are "extended chokes," and they are stored with a small amount of lube, and un-screwed a quarter turn or so after each hunt.  I am now of the habit of pulling my gun out, and tightening the choke right out of the case while hunting.

Tight chokes and bulging barrels is another offender I have seen.  Lube will not stop this.  I think waterfowl hunters are more  guilty of this.  Shooting a tight choke with larger shot sizes that bulges the choke and/or barrel, and now it is stuck, and maybe the barrel ruined...  Non-toxic shot is a lot harder than lead...  Pushing a bunch of shot through a small channel, and something has to give.

Turkey hunters and duck hunters have something in common for sure...  We are all prone to be attracted to purchase gear that we want, but do not need.  I have been guilty of buying "toys" that look or seem cool that have not at all aided me in harvesting a single bird.

Somewhere, I have a turkey choke that is collected dust, cause I switched over to a full choke...  Have not wounded a single bird with that full choke (shooting original Hevi-shot 1 1/4 oz #6's from 8 years ago).  This season, I shot a light modified choke all season for ducks and did quite well with it...  Patterns on paper great and kills birds well...

That being said, I see and read all the hype of the Mueller chokes, and I really want one for both ducks and turkey...  Rationally, I know that these chokes will likely not help me to kill one bird more than what I am currently using...  But...  Still I want them.

[DocHolliday]

My buddy is a gunsmith.

He LOVES screw-in choke tubes....says he probably could do nothing but pull stuck tubes the rest of his career.

Pull em a couple times during season and reinstall. Deep clean after season plus threads.